Chattanooga, Tennessee
You don't have to have a plan. You don't need insurance, an ID, or a clean week behind you. You just need the next right thing — one call, one meal, one door.
Phone numbers that answer
These are free and confidential. Tap any number to dial it. The three below are the ones to try first.
Overdose, not breathing, seizure, or any medical emergency. Tennessee's Good Samaritan law gives limited protection from drug-possession charges when you call for help at an overdose.
Text 988 · chat.988lifeline.org
Someone to talk to right now — call or text. Press 1 for veterans, 2 for Spanish. Press 0 to reach a local Tennessee crisis counselor who can send a mobile crisis team.
Call or text
Tennessee's own free, confidential line for finding addiction treatment. Call or text the same number. They refer you to treatment — they don't do counseling.
Text HELP4U to 435748
Free, confidential treatment referral in English and Spanish. They help you find local treatment and work through insurance, TennCare, or sliding-scale options.
Text TN to 741741
Mental health crisis line that can dispatch a mobile crisis team anywhere in Tennessee, including Hamilton County.
Text your ZIP to 898-211
United Way's referral line for food, housing, utilities, and health resources across 15 counties. If 211 doesn't connect on your carrier, call 423-265-8000.
Local Chattanooga crisis line for domestic violence and sexual assault. A trained local counselor answers — not a national call center.
Text START to 88788
Confidential support, safety planning, and shelter referrals for anyone experiencing abuse.
Text 838255
Call 988 and press 1. Staffed by VA-trained responders, many of them veterans. You do not need to be enrolled in the VA.
Text START to 678-678
Crisis support for LGBTQ+ young people, from counselors who specialize in LGBTQ+ issues.
Peer support run by trans people for trans and questioning callers. They will not call emergency services on you without consent.
Not 24/7 — outside these hours, call 988.
Expert guidance on poisoning and drug exposure. For an overdose in progress, call 911 first.
Not a crisis line — peer support from people with their own lived experience of addiction and mental illness. Good for the hard days that aren't emergencies.
Ask a question
Type it however it comes out. This gives you answers written by hand and checked against real local resources — it doesn't guess, and it doesn't send your question anywhere.
Find a door
Tap a category to see just those places. Tap it again to remove it. Every pin is a real place with a checked address — tap it for the phone number and hours.
The full list
Filtered by the same categories above. Free and no-cost options are marked.
Detox & Rehab
The main nonprofit treatment center in Chattanooga. Medical detox, residential rehab, outpatient, youth programs, halfway house, and sober living — all in one place. State grants cover eligible Tennesseans.
Medical Care
Free county clinic for people experiencing homelessness. Primary medical care, substance use treatment, mental health referrals, and case management. You will not be turned away for inability to pay.
Medical Care
Free primary care from volunteer doctors and nurses. For uninsured adults 19–64 living in Hamilton County or an adjacent county, at or below 200% of the federal poverty level.
Medical Care
Low-cost clinic downtown offering primary care, infectious disease care, behavioral health, and an on-site pharmacy. Also runs harm reduction services.
Medical Care
Community health center with sliding-scale primary and dental care, plus discounted prescriptions through 340B pricing. Saturday hours available.
Mental Health
Major regional nonprofit for mental health and addiction. Outpatient therapy, medication management, IOP, Suboxone treatment, and specialized programs for pregnant and postpartum women.
Methadone/Suboxone
Opioid treatment clinic providing methadone, buprenorphine (Suboxone), and naltrexone, along with counseling. Medication for opioid use disorder is proven to reduce overdose deaths.
Detox & Rehab
Outpatient day treatment and IOP for addiction and co-occurring mental health conditions, with same-day or next-day assessment and no referral required.
Detox & Rehab
The Chattanooga outpatient arm of Cumberland Heights, a long-established Tennessee nonprofit treatment system with a 12-step orientation.
Detox & Rehab
Outpatient and partial hospitalization programs for addiction and mental health, with same-day intake on the Northshore.
Detox & Rehab
Residential and outpatient treatment for substance use and eating disorders, including medical detox, in a home-like setting.
Detox & Rehab
Outpatient detox, PHP, and IOP for substance use and mental health, serving both adults and adolescents.
Detox & Rehab
Private treatment center in East Chattanooga offering substance use and mental health programs for adults.
Detox & Rehab
Private residential detox and inpatient rehab with 24/7 medically supervised withdrawal management.
Mental Health
Psychiatric hospital providing inpatient and outpatient mental health care for adults, adolescents, and children, including crisis stabilization.
Mental Health
Tennessee's state psychiatric hospital for severe mental illness. Admission is usually through emergency or involuntary process, not walk-in — call 988 first if you're in crisis.
Food & Meals
Three free hot meals every single day of the year. No ID, no sobriety requirement, no questions. Anyone can eat.
Basic Needs
Walk-in day center at the same address as the meals: clothing closet, laundry, case management, housing help, and paid job-training tracks in kitchen, retail, janitorial, and warehouse work.
Shelter
Emergency overnight shelter with hot meals for men and women. Arrive at the gate between 5 and 6:30pm. Longer stays involve faith-based programming.
Basic Needs
Drop-in center with showers and outreach case workers. Showers run during the first 90 minutes of each session.
Shelter
Shelter and day center specifically for families with children. Showers, laundry, computers, case management, and help finding permanent housing.
Shelter
Transitional shelter for women and children, plus a program for unaccompanied youth aged 16–18. Pet-friendly and trauma-informed.
Narcan & Supplies
Free naloxone (Narcan), fentanyl test strips, clean syringes, wound care supplies, and HIV/hepatitis C testing. Completely anonymous — no name, no ID, no judgment.
Basic Needs
Volunteer-run free store: clothing, food, harm reduction supplies, and sexual health items. No ID, no income check, no preaching.
Food & Meals
Grocery-style pantry where you choose your own food — produce, meat, bread, eggs — plus a box of staples. Walk in, no appointment.
Basic Needs
Emergency help with rent, utilities, food, and prescriptions, plus a job-readiness program. Call ahead to schedule with a case worker.
Basic Needs
City office for rapid re-housing, deposit assistance, eviction prevention, and shelter connection. Walk in on Wednesdays without an appointment.
Basic Needs
Free help for people coming out of incarceration: getting your ID and documents, job search, housing, food, clothing, bus passes, and treatment referrals.
Basic Needs
Runs the only domestic violence shelter in Hamilton County, a 24/7 crisis line, and the Family Justice Center where legal help, counseling, and safety planning are all under one roof. Also serves youth aging out of foster care, older adults, and the Deaf community.
Basic Needs
Emergency food boxes, utility payment help, and medication assistance to keep people housed. Call first to check eligibility.
Meetings
The local AA intergroup. Call any hour and a real member answers. Their site has the current Chattanooga-area meeting schedule.
Meetings
The Chattanooga Area of NA covers Hamilton, Bradley, Marion, McMinn, and Rhea counties plus nearby Georgia and Alabama. Call the helpline or download the current schedule.
Meetings
For family and friends of someone with a drinking problem. Local information line and current meeting schedules for Chattanooga and surrounding towns.
Meetings
A secular, science-based alternative to 12-step programs, built around self-management and behavior change. Search the finder for Chattanooga meetings, including online.
Meetings
A Christian 12-step program hosted by churches around Chattanooga, meeting almost every night somewhere in the area. Use the locator to find one near you.
Meetings
A Buddhist-informed, non-theistic recovery meeting using meditation and inquiry. Meets online — Zoom details are on the official page.
Basic Needs
A free searchable map of low-cost health care, recovery, housing, food, and dental services around Chattanooga. No login required.
The rest of the rebuild
Recovery isn't only treatment. It's childcare so you can attend it, a lawyer when the eviction notice comes, a job that will take you, and somewhere safe for your kids after school. These Chattanooga nonprofits handle the rest of the work.
Family & Community
Round-the-clock childcare — nights, weekends, third shift — on a sliding scale. If your barrier to treatment or work is that nobody can watch your kids, start here.
Why it matters: Childcare so you can go to treatment or work any shift
Family & Community
A residential program where women in recovery can live on campus with their small children for up to two years, with childcare and counseling on site. You do not have to choose between treatment and your kids.
Why it matters: Treatment you can enter without giving up custody
Family & Community
Emergency money for rent, utilities, food, or a bus pass — aimed at stopping an eviction or a shutoff before it happens. Call Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday morning at 9am.
Why it matters: Keeps a roof over your head during early recovery
Family & Community
Free civil legal help for people with low income: fighting an eviction, getting an order of protection, custody and family court, and appealing denied benefits.
Why it matters: Legal problems are what derail recovery most often
Family & Community
Walk in and use a computer, get help with a resume, practice interviewing, earn a career readiness certificate, or get referred to GED classes. No cost, no judgment.
Why it matters: Rebuilding a work history with a gap in it
Family & Community
Free job coaching, resume help, interview prep, and certificate programs, plus help with the childcare and transportation problems that make job hunting hard. Call first — job-seeker services run out of their Opportunity Center, not this main office.
Why it matters: Employment help designed for people with barriers
Family & Community
Childcare referrals, speech and hearing therapy, assistive technology, and a paid internship program that trains people on public assistance for childcare jobs.
Why it matters: Childcare help plus a paid path into work
Family & Community
A long-term path to owning an affordable home, plus critical repair help if you already own one inside the city limits.
Why it matters: Stable housing is the foundation everything else sits on
Family & Community
After-school clubs across the city with homework help, mentoring, and a safe place for your kids to be while you work or go to treatment.
Why it matters: Somewhere safe for your kids after school
Family & Community
After-school programs, summer camps, and a family resource center for girls in Hamilton and Marion counties.
Why it matters: Consistent, safe programming for daughters
Family & Community
A century-old community center in South Chattanooga running youth programs, education support, and wrap-around help for families.
Why it matters: Neighborhood-level support for the whole family
Family & Community
Free home repairs for widows in Chattanooga — roofing, painting, porch repair, and wheelchair ramps, done by volunteers at no charge.
Why it matters: Keeps older women safely in their own homes
Family & Community
Low-cost dental and vision care plus free food distribution in East Chattanooga. Dental care matters more than people expect in recovery — check their site for current clinic hours.
Why it matters: Affordable dental work, which is hard to find
Family & Community
Free relationship coaching, parenting and fatherhood classes, and access to counseling for families — rebuilding trust after addiction is its own work.
Why it matters: Repairing the relationships addiction damaged
Plain answers
No jargon, no lectures. Just what to expect.
Call 911 first. Say "someone is not breathing" and give the address.
Free naloxone in Chattanooga: Cempa / STEP TN at the Impact Hub, the Chattanooga Free Store, or any Tennessee pharmacy without a prescription — TennCare and most insurance cover it.
You can still get treatment in Chattanooga today. This is the honest order to work through:
Be direct on the phone: "I don't have insurance or money. What can I do?" It's a question they get every day.
Medical detox means staying somewhere with nurses while your body clears the substance. You get medication so withdrawal is manageable rather than brutal. It usually lasts 3 to 7 days.
Detox is not treatment. It gets the substance out; it doesn't change anything else. The people who do best line up what comes next — residential, outpatient, or meetings — before detox ends. Ask about that on day one.
Opioid withdrawal is agonizing but rarely fatal. The bigger danger is after: your tolerance drops fast, and a dose that was normal before can kill you now. This is when most overdoses happen.
No. Medication for opioid use disorder is the single most evidence-backed treatment that exists — it cuts overdose deaths roughly in half. Taken as prescribed, it stops withdrawal and cravings without getting you high.
You will meet people in recovery circles who say it doesn't count. They're wrong, and the research is not close. Staying alive counts.
Locally: Volunteer Comprehensive Treatment Center (423-265-3122) for methadone and buprenorphine, and the McNabb Center (423-266-6751) for Suboxone with counseling.
Practical things that help: get there early, bring ID if you have one but don't skip going if you don't, and ask about a locker or storage. If you're turned away, ask them directly where else has beds tonight — staff usually know.
During the day, The Chatt Foundation at 727 E 11th St is the single most useful address in the city: three meals a day, clothing, laundry, showers nearby, and case managers. No ID, no sobriety requirement.
The fear of losing your children keeps an enormous number of parents out of treatment. There are real options built for exactly this:
Asking for help voluntarily is viewed very differently from being reported. If custody is already in question, Legal Aid of East Tennessee (423-756-4013) gives free legal advice.
You cannot force an adult into recovery, and you cannot love someone into it either. What you can do matters more than it sounds:
Boundaries are not abandonment. You are allowed to refuse money, refuse to lie for someone, and still love them.
You walk in, sit down, and nobody makes you do anything. You don't have to speak — say "I'll pass" and that's completely normal. Nobody takes attendance, and there's no cost.
Open meetings welcome anyone. Closed meetings are for people who want to stop using. If a group doesn't fit, try a different one — they vary enormously.
Meeting times change constantly, so we link to the live schedules instead of printing times that go stale.
Addiction treatment has a marketing industry attached to it. Some of what looks like a helpline is a sales desk that sells your call to whoever pays most. Warning signs:
Every number on this page was taken from the provider's own website or a government source — never from a lead-generation directory. When in doubt, call Tennessee REDLINE (800-889-9789), which is state-backed and sells nothing.
The plan is simple: money raised here goes to the practical things that keep people alive and moving — naloxone, bus passes, IDs and documents, work boots, a first month's deposit.
We're not accepting money until the nonprofit paperwork is done and we can tell you exactly where every dollar goes. In the meantime, give directly to the people already doing this work: The Chatt Foundation, CADAS, or Cempa Community Care.